How is it that these two giants of R&B/rock and pop music, Cosimo Matassa and Bob Crewe, both died on the same day?! And on god-damn September 11?! Also, forgive my brevity, I know both men deserve more respect than a couple simple "this is your life" paragraphs.

Cosimo Matassa was in part responsible for the famed "New Orleans" sound, but not by some magic design. He was an untrained engineer/producer who happened to be in the right place at the right time to record what turned out to be the defining sounds of rock 'n' roll—late '40s and early '50s R&B. He'd first hoped to become a chemist, but after two years in college, he quit and went to work for his dad's jukebox business. Then, after World War II ended, his dad opened a record and appliance shop, and, while they were sorting out the shop details, his dad's partner suggested adding a recording studio. They did and called it J&M Recording. Um, Cosimo, who was only 19, got tapped to run the studio as he was the most "technically inclined"! The musicians who recorded at J&M said Cosimo's easy, willing nature, the quality gear, and affordable prices made the studio a favorite; Cosimo says he only tried to capture what he heard. His "let it happen, man" philosophy kept the recordings organic and immediate, which obviously emboldened the raw HEAT being recorded at J&M. He recorded Roy Brown's seminal "Good Rockin' Tonight," along with early Little Richard, Ray Charles, most of Fats Domino's MAJOR hits, including his earliest "Fat Man," as well as Jerry Lee Lewis' pre-Sun Records demos. Oh, and if not for Cosimo, a teenaged Allen Toussaint wouldn't have gotten to tickle the ivories of a grand piano. The grand at J&M "was the first grand piano that I touched," Toussaint said, and it changed the way he thought about music. Toussaint later would record almost all of his early and, arguably, most important work at J&M. Cosimo finally quit the music business in the '80s and went to work with his sons; he was 88 when he passed.

Unlike, Cosimo, Bob Crewe was a career producer and songwriter; he wrote big, like, MAJOR pop songs! We've all heard "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," right? Anyway, he began in the '50s as a producer for his label XYZ and immediately hit with the Rays' "Silhouettes." Crewe, and his XYZ partner Frank Slay Jr., eventually connected with the Swan label and continued with their hit-making. Then, in the early '60s, he began writing with Bob Gaudio. And again, right out of the gate, he (and Gaudio) hit BIG with their first song - the 4 Seasons' "Sherry." I swear, everything Mr. Crewe's fingers touched turned platinum. In the mid '60s, Crewe started another label, DynoVoice/New Voice. The DynoVoice label might be best known for the vocal group the Toys, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Oh, for you loungers, I'm sure y'all know his easy-listening group, the Bob Crewe Generation; they had a well-known hit "Music To Watch Girls By." Uh, I should ALSO note the Bob Crewe Generation Orchestra soundtracked the Jane Fonda film Barbarella!! In the '70s, his BCG continued recording, he made a solo record, some disco records, and wrote even more hits, including Labelle's massive "Lady Marmalade." By the '80s his output slowed, but he was still able to make the charts with a duet by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, "You're Looking Like Love To Me." Then, in 2001, his writer credit reappeared via a then contemporary remake of "Lady Marmalade!" From what I can suss, post-Jersey Boys acclaim, he'd been pretty quiet, musically, instead focusing on his Bob Crewe Foundation. His death was from complications after a fall; Crewe was 83.